


These Days

by SaraJaye



Category: Shoujo Kakumei Utena | Revolutionary Girl Utena
Genre: Breakfast, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F, Morning Routines, Post-Series, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-07-12 15:40:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15998282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: Settling into life after Ohtori is surprisingly easy.





	These Days

Utena wakes up first, even on weekends. She's always been an early riser, and it gives her a chance to start breakfast before Chu-Chu wakes up and tries to eat the ingredients. Even now, the little mouse's appetite hasn't shrunk, which can make it hard for _any_ meals to be made unless someone's keeping a sharp eye on him.

Luckily, he's a heavy sleeper, and he seldom leaves Anthy's side while she rests.

Anthy usually wakes up no less than thirty minutes after Utena. On Sundays, she'll stay in bed close to an hour, and Utena will just load everything onto a tray and bring it to the bedroom because Sundays were _made_ for lazing around in bed.

But every other morning, Anthy pads into the kitchen and embraces Utena from behind, her breath warm and sweet against Utena's shoulder.

"Good morning."

"Did you sleep well?" Utena asks, not just out of habit, but because Anthy is prone to nightmares. Utena is only vaguely aware of the lives they had before now, most of Ohtori Academy purged from memory, but it still haunts Anthy deeply, so Utena is always prepared to be at her side if she awakens in a cold sweat.

But Anthy seems so relaxed this morning, and Utena feels her nod against her shoulder.

"I had the most wonderful dream," she murmurs, "of us, dancing in a rose garden on the moon." It's the same dream Utena had almost a week ago, she woke up from it smiling and wishing such a dream could be real. Even away from the strange magic of Ohtori, it seems she and Anthy are still connected in such a way.

"This spring," she says, "we'll plant a rose garden, and when it blooms, we'll dance there whenever the moon is full." She turns off the heat under the eggs, raises her free hand, and links her pinky with Anthy's.

Breakfast is always ready at the same time, no matter what Utena cooks. It's strange how that always works out, but Utena isn't about to object. She and Anthy each fix themselves a plate, followed by unloading the rest onto Chu-Chu's. The smell of eggs and bacon draws the little mouse into the kitchen, and he digs in.

The breakfast nook is a major reason they chose the house, just second to the reasonable rent and its closeness to town. Neither Anthy nor Utena has the desire to drive anytime soon, too many bad associations with cars. Plus, neither can afford one, and the walk into town is along a beautiful path. Rain or shine, even in snow, they take a walk to and from town every afternoon. Whether or not they need anything from the shops, or to mail a letter, or just for the sake of it.

The last reason is Utena's favorite, because they can take their time and admire gardens, trees, and wildflowers more beautiful than the ones she remembers from her childhood. Or her dreams. These days, she can't seem to distinguish between the two and that suits her just fine. The present and the future are more important.

After breakfast, Anthy does the dishes, no longer because it's expected of her but because they decided on this trade-off when they moved in together. Anthy's still not much of a cook, and Utena hates washing dishes.

They're in no hurry to have a dishwasher installed, though.

They shower separately, Utena letting Anthy go first, and dress in the same room. Utena helps Anthy dry and comb her long hair, which she hasn't worn pinned back since the day she left Ohtori. The closest she comes is wearing it in a braid some nights, or pulling it into a ponytail on hot days.

On clear mornings, Anthy opens the window so her little windowbox garden can get some fresh air and sunlight. Every day she checks to see if any little birds or bugs have made a home there; sometimes they've come for a visit, other times they've come to stay a while. Summertime is Anthy's favorite, because there's a better chance of a butterfly or two stopping in.

There's only a few ladybugs today, but ladybugs are cute. Utena listens to Anthy as she talks to them, wondering if they can understand her. Anthy has always had a magic touch with animals of all kinds.

"Utena," Anthy suddenly says. It took her a year to finally stop calling her _Miss_. "Why don't we take our walk a little earlier today?"

Usually, they only go earlier if it's supposed to rain in the afternoon. But with the kitchen clean and no other chores waiting for them, why not change up the usual a little? Utena smiles.

"I'd like that."

The sun feels especially warm this morning when they step outside, and the birds' songs seem more cheerful than usual.

Tomorrow, Utena decides, they'll start planning for that rose garden.


End file.
